Comparison: Intact Iskander-M missile vs unexploded warhead recovered in Kyiv Following Russia’s latest ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian emergency crews recovered an unexploded missile warhead embedded in the ground just meters away from a residential apartment block in the Darnytskyi district. The incident has once again highlighted the dangers posed not only by incoming […]

Comparison: Intact Iskander-M missile vs unexploded warhead recovered in Kyiv

Following Russia’s latest ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, Ukrainian emergency crews recovered an unexploded missile warhead embedded in the ground just meters away from a residential apartment block in the Darnytskyi district. The incident has once again highlighted the dangers posed not only by incoming missiles, but also by unexploded remnants that remain after successful interceptions.

Image 1 – Iskander-M in combat-ready condition

The first image shows a Russian Iskander-M (9M723) tactical ballistic missile in fully assembled condition while being prepared for deployment

The missile appears in its standard olive-green military configuration and is being lifted for installation onto a mobile transporter-erector-launcher (TEL). In its complete form, the Iskander-M measures approximately 7.3 meters in length and consists of several major sections, including the propulsion system, guidance package and the warhead section positioned at the nose of the missile.

Once launched, the missile follows a high-speed ballistic trajectory toward its target, maneuvering at extremely high velocities to complicate interception efforts.

Image 2 – Unexploded warhead recovered from a residential area

The second image shows what remained after Ukrainian air defenses intercepted the missile over Kyiv.

While much of the missile’s airframe and propulsion section was destroyed during the interception, the warhead section survived the mid-air breakup and continued falling toward the ground. Ukrainian bomb disposal teams discovered the large cone-shaped warhead buried deep in the soil near civilian housing.

Emergency crews used cranes and specialized lifting equipment to carefully extract the unexploded ordnance. Despite being separated from the missile body, such warheads can remain extremely dangerous, as internal explosive components and fuzing mechanisms may still function.

⚠️The comparison between the two images illustrates an important reality of modern air warfare. Even when air defense systems successfully intercept incoming ballistic missiles, large fragments or intact warhead sections can still pose a serious threat to civilians on the ground. As a result, explosive ordnance disposal teams remain a critical component of urban defense operations, ensuring that unexploded remnants are safely removed before they can cause further casualties.